We are pleased to announce a short course in Bayesian data analysis to
be held by Lyle Gurrin from the University of Melbourne in Stockholm 4-8
June 2007. The course is based on the textbook "Bayesian data analysis"
by Gelman et al. and emphasises practice over theory. Details are
available on the course web page:
http://www.meb.ki.se/biostat/courses/2007/bda/.

The course will be run over 5 days, with alternating lectures and
practical computing sessions. The first half of the course (2.5 days)
will be a broad introduction to basic concepts in Bayesian analysis,
both theoretical and practical. Some of this material will be familiar
to experienced statisticians.

The second half will concentrate on more advanced topics, in particular
hierarchical modelling. We will work through several cases studies, each
comprising a lecture and laboratory session. Example analyses will
include meta-analysis of clinical trials, longitudinal analysis of
biometry, method comparison studies, and analysis of genetic data
including material from twins and SNP association studies. Throughout
the course we will illustrate differences between classical and Bayesian
approaches to analysis of the same problems.

The practical part of the course will be based on BUGS, accessed through
R using either R2WinBUGS or BRugs. Emphasis will be on illustrating how
to take the practical examples all the way from data formatting to the
reporting stage in terms of tabulations, graphics etc. Participants are
requested to bring laptops; we will provide instructions in advance
about what to install in addition to assistance during the course. There
will also be computers available for participants unable to bring
laptops. 

The intended audience is biostatisticians, epidemiologists, and public
health scientists wishing to gain insight and practical experience with
Bayesian data analysis. The material in lectures is aimed at students of
biostatistics and covers the statistical theory at an undergraduate
level.
The practical exercises will be fully scripted and directed with three
tutors on hand, so they should be manageable by those who are far from
expert in statistical theory and programming. The course will be limited
to
25 participants. 

DETAILS

Dates: 4-8 June 2007.

Location: Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics,
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm.

Primary teacher: Lyle Gurrin, Senior Research Fellow in Biostatistics,
Centre for Molecular, Environmental, Genetic and Analytic (MEGA)
Epidemiology, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne,
Australia.

Senior teaching assistant: Bendix Carstensen, Steno Diabetes Center,
Copenhagen, Denmark and External Lecturer, Department of Biostatistics,
University of Copenhagen.

Organisers: Department of Epidemiology, Swedish Institute for Infectious
Disease Control (SMI) in collaboration with the Department of Medical
Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet. 

Fee: EUR1000 plus 25% moms (Swedish value added tax) where required. 
There is no need to remit payment with the application. Applicants will
receive instructions on how to pay the fee in mid April (assuming there
are sufficient applicants for the course to be viable). The course fee
includes lunch and coffee each day and lecture notes; it does not
include the textbook or accommodation.

Applications: E-mail to the course administrator Camilla Ahlqvist
([log in to unmask]) no later than 15 April. There is no application
form; please provide contact details and feel free to provide a
motivation for why you wish to attend the course (we will attempt to
cater for any special interests you may have).